1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector having a pull tab and a pair of latch springs for engaging and releasing a mated complementary connector.
2. Description of Prior Art
Referring to U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,939, a conventional electrical connector disclosed in the patent has a pair of latch springs 22 and 22A respectively attached on opposite sides of a housing 21 of the connector. An operating member 23 has a pair of latch releasing cams 23-4 located below angled portions 22-4 of the latch springs 22, 22A. When an operator pulls a pull tab 23-8 of the operating member 23 backwardly, the latch releasing cams 23-4 exert outward forces on the angled portions 22-4 and U-shaped claws 22-1 slip out to release a mated complementary connector. Because the operating member 23 and the latch springs 22, 22A are positioned outside of the housing 21, they are very easy to be damaged when a force is exerted thereon. When two or more such connectors are arranged side by side, a relatively large space is needed between every two connectors and this adversely affects the compact design of an electronic system including such connectors. Furthermore, when the pulling force acting on the operating member 23 is released, the latch springs 22, 22A exert a force to push the operating member 23 to its original position. However, the force is too small to exactly pull the operating member 23 to the original position. To overcome the above mentioned disadvantages, an electrical connector is needed that a pull tab of the connector can be automatically return to its original position, and a better protection is provided to the latch springs to prevent them from damage by an external force.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an electrical connector having a pull tab engaging with a pair of latch springs for latching and releasing a mated complementary connector, the pull tab with the latch springs can automatically resume to original position after released the complementary connector.
In order to achieve the object above-mentioned, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention comprises a base, an insulating housing, a cover assembled to the base, a pull tab and a pair of latch springs. The base has a pair of sidewalls, the sidewalls define a pair of elongated first channels. A mating frame is formed on a front portion of the base. The insulting housing is assembled into the mating frame and has a plurality of terminals received therein. The cover has a pair of sidewalls, the sidewalls define a pair of elongated second channels on opposite sides thereof corresponding to the first channels of the base. The pull tab has an operation portion and a pair of arms extending from a pair of ends of the operation portion. The pair of arms is respectively received in the first and second channels and the operation portion locates outside the base and the cover. Each arm has a latch releasing portion at a free end thereof and a resilient portion protruding inwardly from the arm. Each arm defines a slit extending into the resilient portion. A pair of metal pieces is fitted in the corresponding slits. The latch springs cooperate with the latch releasing portions for securely engaging with the complementary connector when said complementary connector mates with the electrical connector. When the pull tab is pulled backwards, the latch releasing portions push the latch springs to separate the complementary connector from the latch springs. The resilient portions and the metal pieces of the pull tab are bent to deflective shapes. When the pull tab is released, the resilient portions and the metal pieces resume to original positions to motivate the pull tab to return back to an original position .